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Facebook: The Most Viewed Wikipedia Article in 2012

Facebook has over one billion members and is one of the most valuable and recognizable companies in the world. If those statistics aren't enough to make you believe Facebook is a big deal, then maybe this last one will seal the deal: In 2012, the Facebook Wikipedia article was, as of today, viewed over 32 million times. That makes it the most read page on one of the most viewed websites in the world.

Toolserver obtained visitation statistics for all of the various Wikipedia pages. Since its launch in 2001, The Free Encyclopedia has become available in 285 languages, with 35 million editors working around the world to curate content. Toolserver used 13 of Wikipedia's servers to glean the most viewed articles for top trafficked sites. The English version of Wikipedia remains the most-viewed.

So, what else did English speaking visitors read on Wikipedia? They read about One Direction (#4 with 22,351,637 views), Fifty Shades of Grey (#6 with 21,779,423 views), and about death (#3 with 25,418,587). Movie pages were really popular as well, with The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Hunger Games appearing on the list in the number five, eight, and 10 spots, respectively.

What's interesting is that Google, the only other tech company in the top 10, is number nine. YouTube, another Google property, comes in at number 12. And that's it. There are no more tech companies in the top 100, though Steve Jobs pops up at number 64. The interest in Facebook this year could have to do with the company's IPO and the commotion that caused, as well as the high-profile Instagram acquisition.

Head over to the Wikipedia Toolserver page to view the rest the most viewed charts for all the other languages.